Everton manager Sean Dyche has challenged his players to find different ways to find goals and Demarai Gray did just that when coming in from the cold and starting for his new boss for the first time against Nottingham Forest. But can he prove a viable option up front for the Blues in the weeks ahead?
Despite 4-4-2 being by far his most-used formation during nine-and-a-half years in charge of Burnley, Dyche has only deployed a lone frontman so far since he took charge of Everton within a 4-5-1 set-up. Dominic Calvert-Lewin started his first game at home to Arsenal but was withdrawn after an hour due to a hamstring injury.
Since then, Ellis Simms led the line for the Merseyside derby at Anfield before Neal Maupay got the nod for the subsequent three matches against Leeds United, Aston Villa and then Arsenal away. None of these players scored but at the City Ground the Blues boss turned to Gray for his first start of his reign.
